Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an axial bearing arrangement for a rotating shaft, in particular of a turbocharger. In particular, the invention relates to an axial bearing arrangement for the rotating shaft between a compressor wheel and a turbine wheel of an exhaust-gas turbocharger.
Description of the Related Art
The use of segments arranged on a circular ring on axial bearings, in particular hydrodynamic axial bearings, is known from the prior art. Here, the shaft is “braced” or supported through the use of the segments in the housing, wherein a plurality of pressure fields are built up and the rotor is mounted in the axial direction.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to specify an axial bearing arrangement which, while being inexpensive to produce and assemble, permits operationally reliable mounting, in particular of a shaft in a turbocharger. By means of the invention, it is possible, using structurally identical axial bearings within a turbocharger type series, for the different, application-specific axial thrust loads to be accommodated only by exchanging the run-on collars (sealing bushing, bearing collar). By means of correspondingly adapted load-bearing surfaces of the run-on collars, it is possible, with the same segment configuration on both sides on the axial bearing, for different forces to be accommodated in each thrust direction. It is the distinctive feature that, despite different contact diameters, the width/length ratio remains approximately constant for a wide variety of adaptations. By means of said design measures, it was simultaneously possible to achieve the aim of reducing the resulting friction losses.